88 Marketplace

88 Marketplace is a freehold shop-offices enclave positioned at Kepayan, Kota Kinabalu. This commercial area is within close proximity to residential areas like Taman Ridgeview and also Taman Sri Kepayan and commercial area of Sri Kepayan Commercial Centre.

88 Marketplace houses 2 and 3-storey shop offices with standard units having a built-up area of approximately 1,200 sf. Being in a commercial area, tenants get to enjoy ample amenities from 88 Marketplace itself as well as those from its neighboring areas – Sri Kepayan Commercial Centre offers stalls selling fresh produce and more and it is sited just a stone’s throw away.

88 Marketplace is famous for its local cuisines and thus, residents staying nearby and tenants get to enjoy a variety of cuisines as well as shop at the many small stalls sited there. Moreover, it is also positioned near to amenities like Hospital Queen Elizabeth which is sited just a short 5 minutes drive away from 88 Marketplace. There is a Shell petrol kiosk situated right next to the enclave for the convenience of the tenants and residents staying nearby.

88 Marketplace is also surrounded by several educational establishments such as Tadika Nasional, Yue Min Kindergarten, Open University Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Taska Bumble Bee as well as Kota Kinabalu High School; all located less than a 10 minutes drive away from 88 Marketplace.

This commercial property is easily accessible via Jalan Lintas and Jalan Pintas. KTM Tanjung Aru Station is the nearest mode of public transportation sited to 88 Marketplace which is positioned approximately 1.33km away from the property.

Analysis

A blog site has reported that Dr. Roland Chia, who is the secretary of PKR Sabah, has stated that he has mixed feelings over the preferential treatment that markets like 88 Marketplace has been receiving as compared to other markets like the Central Market. Places like Central Market are being given a major face lift while the 88 Marketplace has been left unattended which has also affected the potential hawkers there. This is largely because many were anticipating the wet market to be in operation which till now, is still left empty.

Many hawkers as well as potential small traders were urging the local authorities to solve the matter but to no avail. Many have stated that they first invested in units in 88 Marketplace largely is because there will be a DBKK market in the development plan which serves as a convenience to local residents there.

However, this will start to affect the value of the units there with the on-going issue still unsolved. Many have also commented that this might be a waste if left abandoned as 88 Marketplace is also famous for it’s variety of local cuisines.